Dangerous Liaisons
by Hooty-McBoon
Summary: My first Naruto fic. Searching for Sasuke, Sakura gets into trouble of the Uchiha kind, but not the kind that Team 7 wanted. Why when he claims to have severed his ties would he save her? Rated for violence. My summary sucks
1. Dangerous Liaisons

Ok so this is my first ever Naruto fic and well I hope you are kind. It's going to be a SakuxSasu 'cause well I love those two. I hope that you enjoy this and don't hate me when I make mistakes with things, I don't know names of some things, I've been researching as much as possible. So anyway here goes.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I wish I did.

**Chapter 1: Dangerous Liaisons**

Her feet slid slightly in the wet, she slipped a kunai from the pouch on her leg, her blood and sweat were mingling with the rain that pelted against her skin in an unrelenting fashion, her green eyes narrowed slightly as the Akatsuki in front of her doubled over in pain his shark-like features hardened as he realises that she was not one to be messed with. He had, up until that moment been playing games with her, he now regretted this. His Samehada lay on the floor a few feet away from him, he tried to scramble towards it; "Don't." her voice was menacing and was not to be argued with; "I don't want to have to kill you Kisame," he looked up at her shocked.

"You speak as if that were possible." He bit back, her smirk was not her own as she moved faster than he could see to place her kunai at his throat.

"You think it's not?" she asked and she felt him jump slightly, shocked, that she was now so close and that his death could be dealt with a flick of her wrist.

"I underestimated you." A cold voice drawled from behind, and Sakura did her best not to shudder, Uchiha Itachi, she turned keeping Kisame in front of her with one arm around his neck; "You won't kill him though, what would my brother think of you then?" he was goading her, she set her face into a hard glare, what did she care what his brother thought?! She then froze realising the seriousness of her situation, these were two S-class criminals, they wouldn't think twice about killing her, so why should she? She tightened her grip on the kunai and let out a shuddering breath hoping that Kakashi, Naruto and Sai weren't far behind her. They had of course been following a lead in search of Sasuke, but had been attacked by several sound ninja, Sakura had followed one into the clearing and it was here that she had been set upon by Kisame.

"What do you expect me to do?" she asked pushing down on Kisame's shoulder so that he was now on his knees, Itachi didn't move to stop her even as he saw a trickle of blood slide down the blade that she was pressing into his partner's neck, his face remained emotionless. Sakura watched him carefully noting to herself how similar his features were to Sasuke's.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" the sound of that voice made her grip loosen momentarily she was glad for the backup.

"Let him go." Itachi had answered her sarcastic question.

She quirked an eyebrow at him; "You don't really think I will do you?" she asks trying to maintain the amused look that is masking her fear. The sound of feet trampling through the undergrowth gets louder until she hears Naruto break into the clearing.

"Sakura?" Naruto looks concerned, his eyes flit from one S-class criminal to the other, he watched as she shifted her footing nervously.

"See I was going to use one of you as bait to bring my brother in, but how about I take both of you?" Itachi isn't asking really, Sakura glances at Naruto and watches as his eyes darken and his fists clench.

"Your brother, broke all ties with us!" Sakura calls out as Kakashi and Sai burst into the clearing, she is momentarily distracted and her grip loosens once again, just enough for Kisame to thrust his elbow backwards into her ribs, Sakura feels two of them snap and falls to her knees clutching her chest as she spits out blood. Kisame staggers back to Itachi reaching for his Samehada on the way. Naruto, Sai and Kakashi step in front of Sakura and Itachi narrows his gaze.

"I could just take her you know," he said lacking all emotions; "but, I wouldn't want to get blood on my cloak." He smirks coldly as Naruto growls in the most animalistic of ways, Itachi and Kisame turned on their heals and were gone within a blink of an eye, Naruto went to follow but Kakashi reached out to stop him by placing a hand on his shoulder and pointing at Sakura who was currently healing herself.

"Are you OK?" Naruto had moved to sit beside Sakura who hand one glowing-green hand placed on her ribs, she nodded slowly.

"Hag, what happened?" Sakura's eyes shot open to give Sai her best death glare. He of course did not react to it and continued smiling his fake smile.

Sakura then recounted the story to them of how a Sound nin had lured her out here, she sighed once she had finished and looked around, it was dark night had fallen some hours ago and she was exhausted; "Do you suppose we could set up camp for the night?" she suggested trying her best to stifle a yawn, Naruto looked up at Kakashi who shrugged which meant; 'yes'. The boys then set about putting up tents as they insisted that Sakura should stay off her feet and rest, she had sighed heavily at their request insisting that there was nothing wrong with her. The tents were up within a matter of moments and Sakura yawned happily as she crawled into hers, she curled up into a ball hugging her knees to her chest and tried to go to sleep, unfortunately the sound of Uchiha Itachi's voice was still echoing in her mind; Why would he want to take her anyway? She wasn't important or dangerous, Sasuke wouldn't care if his brother killed her…right?! She kept thinking until the dark comfort of sleep claimed her.

* * *

"WAKE UP SAKURA-CHAN!" Sakura jolted awake almost head butting Naruto who had stuck his head into her tent to wake her, she sighed and rubbed her eyes. He was far too loud for an early morning wake up call. Naruto grinned at her; "Breakfast is ready." He told her before removing his head from her tent. Sakura fell backwards onto her bedding while exhaling, she was still exhausted after her fight yesterday with Kisame, she sat up and flexed her muscles they ached and she let out an involuntary groan. She just sat there for a few moments replaying the events of last night in her head before climbing out of the tent, Kakashi and Naruto greeted her warmly, Sai however did not even glance up at her, Sakura would have been offended had this not been his usual behaviour. Breakfast was slow and boring, it consisted mainly of Naruto asking if she were alright and Sakura resorted to smacking him on the back of the head when he asked her a 7th time. Once they had packed away all of their things, Kakashi called them all together.

"I think that we should split up in search of Sasuke," he left the suggestion hanging in the air, trying his hardest to ignore Naruto's gaping mouth.

"OK." Was Sakura's reply, it wasn't that she didn't like working with her team, but she felt that they would find Sasuke faster if they were to split up and search in different directions.

Naruto continued gaping at his former sensei; "You're joking right?" he asked quirking an eyebrow at him, Kakashi shook his head and his one visible eye narrowed slightly in confusion; "Uchiha Itachi!" was Naruto's explanation. Sai who had shown no signs of paying attention up until this point, nodded along with Naruto.

"He is after one of us."

"Yeah what he said." Naruto agreed.

Sakura rolled her eyes; "We won't be too far away from each other will we Kakashi?" she glared at him and he shook his head.

"Of course not, we will be within radioing distance…so we can all be further away from Naruto than from anyone else." Sakura snorted at Kakashi's joke and Naruto looked on confused. So they headed off in different directions much to Naruto's disappointment, Sakura could feel his eyes on her as she walked away, he was worried that she would get herself hurt, this made Sakura angry the thoughts that he still didn't have faith in her abilities, she'd been working _so_ hard.

"Not good enough Sakura," she muttered to herself as she felt her fists clench, the overwhelming urge to punch something or someone made her knuckles crack and whiten, she took a claming breath; "remember what you're doing." _Looking for Sasuke._ "This is not a time to lose it." She muttered again.

"We wouldn't want that now would we?" that voice, it made her blood freeze. Not again. Sakura spun around to face him, her hair whipped against her face, his eyes flickered and the black was replaced with red, Sakura felt her heartbeat quicken, she knew that backup but was only a shout away, but she wanted to know what Uchiha Itachi's interest in her was. This was a reckless move at best...at worst it could cost her, her life.

"What do you want?!" her voice came out louder that she had intended and it shook slightly, the smirk that Itachi wore permanently grew and she heard a chuckle that was enough to give anyone nightmares. Sakura took an involuntary step backwards.

The smirk once again grew as he took a step towards her; "I thought we'd already discussed this, you will bring my brother to me," he paused and looked at her with hungry eyes, Sakura shuddered, she knew that look, had seen it so many times before, a look of wanting; "but maybe, first, I can have some fun." He growled, Sakura reached for the pouch on her leg, knowing that it was now or never, she pulled out a kunai and got herself into a defensive stance.

"Not if I can help it you won't." her voice held more conviction than it had done before, but the slight shake of her hand gave her away.

The sigh that came from his lips was a testament to the fact that he couldn't be bothered to fight her; "Must we? You are simply delaying the inevitable, and I _really_ don't want to have to kill you." For some reason Sakura believed that he didn't wish to kill her, but she had something to prove, she wasn't weak and the outcome of this fight was _not_inevitable. It wasn't as if he was able to predict the future but neither was she, and she honestly would never have guessed what was to happen next.

Itachi's eyes narrowed until they were little more than slits, he charged at her and Sakura was taken by surprise she had been expecting a jutsu of some kind, she only managed to jump out of the way at the last second, she felt his Akatsuki cloak brush against her thigh, she skidded to a halt and readied herself for another attack, he spun around and then did Sasuke's favourite trick, disappeared in a puff of smoke, Sakura closed her eyes listening for the smallest of noises, left? No, right? No, above? No, below? No…behind…she spun again this time thrashing out violently with her kunai, she caught him and he cried out. There was a momentary pause where Sakura stood in utter shock, surely Uchiha Itachi had not just screamed?! He then growled in a most dangerous of fashions, which told her that he had, and that she would never hear that sound ever again. She would be lucky if she heard any sound ever again.

"So Kunoichi, you think you can beat me?" so he had gone back to talking, he spoke so much more than his brother did, it was annoying.

She laughed and Itachi looked stunned; "Never," she whispered taking a step towards him; "but, you never know today could just be my day." Her cocky laugh soon had him riled; she wasn't about to get out of this one with all of her limbs still intact. He would personally make sure of it.

From high above them, a pair of red eyes watched their banter with bated breath, she was being foolish and brave but he didn't know if he admired her for that, those bright green eyes that had often looked at him with love and devotion, looked determined and slightly scared, she knew how dangerous the man in front of her was, and how stupid it was to taunt him, but if it meant that she would be closer to finding the person who her heart still yearned for, no matter how much she told herself that it didn't, perhaps she would be able to find some peace. Little did she know that he was watching her every move and when his brother made his next attack he winced as the kunai that had been hidden beneath the black cloak pierced her side. 12 year old Sakura would have cried out, screamed, gripped the gaping wound where her blood was seeping from, but Sasuke noted that this girl was nearly a woman and had left that weak persona behind. She examined the wound briefly and ascertained that it was not life threatening before placing her kunai away and cracking her knuckles, they glowed with blue chakra, she swung her fist backwards whilst running towards Itachi at such a pace that there was no way that she would miss him. When she made contact the sound of his jaw breaking was audible even to Sasuke high above them, Itachi shot through the trees behind him, if that wasn't enough of a signal to Naruto Sakura wasn't sure what was. Sasuke felt his stomach lurch at the sound of his brother's jaw breaking, she was sure to be for it now.

"I'm not sure if you are brave or extremely stupid." Itachi's voice sounded strange due to his broken jaw; "I think I might get you to heal this before I kill you ne?"

It was time for the man up in the trees to act, he couldn't let his brother kill her. Itachi had been right, he still cared, he hadn't severed the bond between them entirely. He shifted down jumping from branch to branch, he noticed Sakura look up, she could sense him, he'd done his very best to hide his chakra but it was almost as if she could smell him when he got too close. When he landed between Sakura and his brother he heard her gasp slightly.

The earpiece in Sakura's ear had the sound of Naruto's voice calling her, but she couldn't bring herself to answer him. "SAKURA-CHAN? ARE YOU OK?!" he was screaming, he sounded desperate.

"I…"

"SAKURA?!" that was Kakashi, he could tell something was wrong.

"Sasuke." Was all she could say before she succumbed to the fatigue, blood loss and the shock of seeing _him_ after all of this time.

* * *

Cliffhanger, don't kill me. So right, tell me what you think? Review please! No flames thank you. 


	2. Uchiha, The Avenger?

Just to make some things clear…Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto are all 17, so Sasuke has been missing for 4 years, I think. I'll admit Sasuke is rather OOC at first, he'll come to his senses later, I promise.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if I did things would be so very different.

I hope you like it. Don't forget to review.

**Chapter 2: Uchiha, The Avenger?**

The sound of Sakura's body hitting the ground caught Sasuke's attention, she had whispered his name before she went down and he felt a surge of guilt, it was his fault she was out here, his fault that she was bleeding, exhausted and overwhelmed.

"Bit weak isn't she?" Sasuke focused his attention back onto his brother, he smirked noticing the large purple bruise that covered his distorted jaw.

"She was weak once, but I wouldn't say someone who can do that to you is weak." Sasuke watched as his brother's eyes narrowed into a glare. Had Sakura been conscious, she would have been touched, he didn't think she was weak. The sound of footsteps reached Sasuke's ears; "You can't fight all of us Itachi, now run along!" his taunting earns him another glare and Itachi took a threatening step towards him, Sasuke is un-phased by it. He quirks an eyebrow at his brother who does not move; "Now is not the time to be challenging me Itachi, not the most fitting place for your death…" Sasuke's voice is full of warning and his older brother smirks slightly before stepping backwards towards the shadows of the trees.

"You can't protect her all the time," Itachi's voice was cold and carried a threat against Sakura's life; "you are not ready to face me yet _little_ brother." With that he was gone and Sasuke was left to curse under his breath, ruing a missed opportunity to kill his brother once and for all, despite his brother's insistence that he was not ready, Sasuke was sure that he was. The sound of Naruto's footfalls had gotten much closer and Sasuke prepared himself for seeing the blond.

"SAKURA!" Naruto burst from the trees; "Sasuke-teme?" he looked at his former teammate for a second before seeing the prone form of Sakura; "What did you do to her?" he accused.

Sasuke fought the urge to role his eyes and responded with a trademark; "Hn." _I didn't do anything dobe._

It wasn't long before Sai and Kakashi had arrived and the three of them were all fussing over Sakura who had regained consciousness, Sasuke watched on as the new Team 7 completely ignored him, after Naruto's accusation none of them had spoken to him, he could have just slipped away and he was sure that none of them would have noticed. He needed to stay however so he didn't move.

"I'M FINE!" Sakura's scream was directed at Naruto who was asking her if she was ok again and again. Sasuke was not surprised by this she would probably have done the same when they were 12, she'd always had a bad temper.

"Sorry Sakura-chan," Naruto seemed to shrink away from the pink haired Kunoichi; "I blame Sasuke-teme." At the use of his name Sakura sat up glad that she hadn't simply imagined him saving her. She tried to stand but a searing pain in her side prevented such an action, she looked down and began healing herself, the momentary shock that coloured Sasuke's features went unnoticed by the group in front of him. Once she was done she pushed the three who were crowding her away so that she could take a good look at the Uchiha who had saved her.

"And I thought Itachi was lying." Even her words seemed to have a swagger to them. Sasuke had been expecting fan girl squeals and a crushing hug, he hadn't expected scrutiny, but that was what she was giving him, she looked him over about 3 times before speaking again; "Well Uchiha…are you going to come peacefully or will we have to take you down?" the words sounded alien even as she was saying them, and Sasuke did not attempt to hide his shock, never in her life had Haruno Sakura even contemplated threatening him, but that was most certainly a threat.

"You think you could?" he asked her raising an eyebrow, this anger Sakura had was amusing him.

Naruto placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder and held her back; "Look teme, we came to bring you back, and that it exactly what we are going to do whether you like it or not!" The look of defiance in Sasuke's eyes faded slightly as he watched Kakashi and Sai move to stand on either side of Naruto offering him backup though Sasuke wondered if Naruto needed it. After a moment's pause Sasuke bowed his head in submission and Sakura struggled to remain on her feet, as the shock of it hit her, was Uchiha Sasuke really letting them take him without a fight? Something more was going on, she could feel it and would try and get to the bottom of it before he could tell her that she was wrong. Or that she was annoying and she should leave him alone.

"You know it's better that we found you than some ANBU." Kakashi's voice broke the tension that was mounting between them. Sasuke had been expecting a warmer greeting than the one he was currently getting. He had just saved Sakura from his brother.

"What's wrong Sasuke-teme? You look confused…?" Naruto asked ignoring the glare that the Uchiha gave him.

"Hn." Was the reply that Naruto received and Sakura did her very best not to scoff, it was almost as if they hadn't been apart at all, but they had been and Sasuke had missed a lot, he'd missed Naruto grow up, missed them become the best of friends just so they could find him. Sasuke had missed her become one of the best medic ninja around. Sakura's gaze lingered for a while on the back of his head she remembered the days when she would just sit watching him for hours on end and that would be enough to keep her entertained. Now however…she was over him, he was a missing-nin and she was going to bring him home. When her eyes began trailing down his body and her mind asked her heart; _'I wonder what he'd look like without a shirt on.'_ Sakura couldn't help but blush as if she'd said it out loud. She wasn't supposed to be thinking like that, she was over him. She would keep telling herself this all the way back to Konoha. Sakura heard snatches of the conversation that was happening behind her, Sasuke was talking more than she had ever heard him do so, he explained to Naruto how Sakura had been attacked by his brother.

"But why, did you not kill him teme?!" Naruto sounded very confused indeed and Sakura who happened to be listening at that moment in time felt her ears prick up and listened harder to Sasuke's explanation.

"It was not time." Naruto let out an exasperated sigh and Sakura thought; _'What kind of answer is that?!'_

It seemed that Naruto was thinking the same; "WHAT KIND OF ANSWER IS THAT TEME?!" Sakura had to stifle a laugh, she could practically hear Sasuke flinch away from him as Naruto shouted.

"Not so loud dobe." Sasuke reprimanded; "Anyway, it's the only answer you're getting." Ahead of the boys Sakura had paused looking all around, apparently she had heard something that they hadn't.

"Sa-" she raised a hand and Naruto stopped, she then placed a finger against her lips to signify silence. She was on edge, they all should have been, but Naruto had been too busy quizzing Sasuke. Sai, who up until that moment had kept quiet moved to stand beside Sakura.

"Hag, it was a bird." Sakura glared at him and glanced at Sasuke who looked greatly confused, had she not been exhausted Sakura would have punched him, but she merely flicked him with a chakra charged finger causing him to clutch his arm in pain. Sakura looked around once more before moving on, Sai had been correct in his assumption that it was a bird, however it was better to be safe than sorry, Itachi could have been following them; "You are jumpy." Sai commented.

Sakura glared at him; "Thank you for stating the obvious." She muttered. Sakura kept walking, she didn't want to talk to Sai and didn't want to look at the Uchiha who was following on behind so obediently, she couldn't help feel a little uneasy about that, the last time they had found him, he'd been a little less reluctant to follow them, Sakura had many questions for him, most of them involved her interrogating him while beating him to within an inch of his life then healing him back to health again. However somehow she thought that Tsunade would not allow it. Naruto fell into step beside her and she turned to smile at him.

"It's getting dark." Kakashi commented, Sakura looked up at the sky to see that the last light of the day seemed to be fading away.

"You wouldn't be hinting that you want to stop for the night would you?" Sakura turned to ask him, his one visible eye crinkled at the edge telling the group that he was smiling; "I'll take that as a yes." She sighed stopping and placing her bag down as Naruto dived for it; "What are you doing?" she asked confused.

"Getting your tent out for you Sakura-chan." His beaming grin was not to be argued with, so Sakura sat back and watched as he struggled for the second night in a row to put up her tent for her. It was sweet, but she could have managed it herself. She allowed her self an indulgent moment to look at Sasuke, seeing how much he had changed, and how much he was the same. She had to stop herself from saying something to him, anything to reassure him that she wasn't mad, but she _was_ angry with him. More than that she was livid, he'd left them, betrayed them, he'd broken her heart, how could she just forgive him for that?! Naruto was forcing him to help put the tents up; he did as he was told with a grunt and a glance towards his pink-haired ex-team mate. Sakura couldn't help but notice the look he gave her, she raised an eyebrow at him when she caught his gaze, he looked away quickly and Sakura couldn't help but smirk, he'd always been the strong silent type and hearing him talking earlier with Itachi and Naruto was probably the most she had ever heard him speak in all the time she had known him. Naruto stood up straight dusting off his hands.

"Sakura-chan, all done no thanks to you teme." Sakura smiled at Naruto, when they were 12 had Naruto said this she would have hit him for being rude to Sasuke.

"Go to bed ugly you need the sleep, maybe it'll make you a little less ugly." She didn't have a problem hitting Sai however. She raised her hand and smacked him round the back of the head. Naruto winced for Sai but knew that he had deserved it, Sakura then ducked into her tent.

"Good night all." She said cheerily.

"Good night Sakura-chan." Naruto beamed.

"Where am I going to sleep?" the words had been mumbled and had Naruto not been standing right beside Sasuke he wouldn't have heard him.

Naruto looked around briefly and noted that Sasuke didn't have a bag that could hold a tent; "Ah," he paused glancing at Kakashi who shrugged at him; "umm, with me?" Naruto suggested.

"He snores." Came a voice from inside Sakura's tent.

"I DO NOT!" Naruto shouted indignantly.

"You do Naruto-kun." Sai told him with one of his trademark fake smiles, Sasuke gave his replacement an odd look, mainly due to the suffix that was added to the end of Naruto's name.

"I don't mind dobe." Sasuke said just wanting to go to sleep. It was strange being back, it was almost as if he'd never left, they were all treating him the same as before, well Sakura wasn't, but he wasn't about to let that bother him. She _was _a fan girl who had grown up, there's nothing wrong with that. Perfectly natural. As Sasuke got himself ready of bed and squeezed into the small tent that Naruto claimed was a two man, Sasuke guessed it had been a two man tent when they were 12, but now at 17 he was surprised that his feet didn't stick out of one end. As he lay himself down his mind couldn't help wandering to the pink-haired Kunoichi asleep not 10 feet away. Her cold reception and the way she spoke his name, without the '-kun' he didn't expect it to hurt like this. Also he couldn't help but dwell on what his brother had said, why would he threaten Sakura, she was nothing to Itachi, what would he want with her? Sasuke had to go back to Konoha because of information he had gathered on the Akatsuki, they were planning an attack, they wanted to wipe Konoha of the map, and some form of twisted allegiance meant that Sasuke felt he should go home and protect them. From what he had seen so far however he felt that perhaps they would not need his help, the weakest member of his team had toughened up considerably, he could only feel partly responsible for this, maybe his leaving had triggered her build in strength, but he couldn't take all of the credit, she had probably worked very hard to get where she was, that was something he could not deny her. Soon Naruto's snores filled the tent and Sasuke placed the pillow that Naruto had given him over his head, he didn't expect to get any sleep but they way his mind was racing he wouldn't have even without Naruto's snoring.

* * *

A/N: So that was chapter two...I hope that you enjoyed it. The beggining was rather weak I felt but I think that it got better as it went on. Oh well that's my opinion. Review please that purple/blue button is there for a reason go on you know you want to click it, it'll make me happy, and type faster. No Flames thank you.


	3. The Punishment

Geez this took me longer than I expected. But I promise to try and write faster. I'm planning out the story a bit more now. Hehe. I hope that you all enjoy this 'cause I love writing it. Itty bitty Saku/Sasu in here, it will develop I promise. Edited slightly nothing major.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto it would be rather awesome if I did though.

Chapter 3: The Punishment

Konoha's gates were open wide when the party of five approached them, they were all slightly surprised that ANBU hadn't appeared yet to escort Sasuke to the Hokage, just as the thought crossed Sasuke's mind 4 ANBU officers appeared he couldn't help roll his eyes at the irony of it. Then something he hadn't been counting on happened, Sakura who had been walking behind took his arm and led him past the ANBU who didn't even try to stop her, they simply nodded in respect as she marched the Uchiha past them without a word of explanation. Naruto, Sai and Kakashi smiled slightly as they followed the pink-haired Kunoichi, who had grown so much while the Uchiha been gone, but not in height, people stopped and watched them as they walked towards the Hospital where Sakura knew Tsunade would be. Sasuke wanted to ask what was going on, but the strength with which Sakura was holding onto his arm had silenced all thoughts, he didn't have time to look around and notice the changes in his former home, and before he knew it he was standing in front of the busty Hokage.

"Tsunade-shishou." Sasuke looked to his left at Sakura who was addressing the Hokage, he hadn't known that Sakura had been trained by her, but it did explain a lot, the healing, and of course her monstrous strength.

"Saku-," she paused looking up from a large pile of paperwork, she looked stunned; "Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke hadn't realised up till now that the whole of Team 7 were in the room, he licked his lips and looked at her.

"Hn." Was his acknowledgment. At the sight of him Tsunade had to sit down, she had stood the moment Sakura had spoken to her, but now she was stunned, she looked from her apprentice to the Uchiha and back again hoping for some kind of explanation.

When she received none she spoke; "Can someone please tell me what is going on?" Her voice was calm, a lot calmer than she had expected, the confusion and even anger that had filled her at the sight of this missing-nin warranted more of a reaction than the one she had given, and as she was known for a bad temper, Team 7 knew they were treading on thin ice.

Kakashi looked at the Hokage with his one visible eye and then he looked down at his former students, he knew none of them would speak up so he did; "Sakura found him Tsunade-sama, she was fighting a couple of sound nin who led her into a trap, where Kisame began fighting her," he paused and looked into the Hokage's confused face, he then continued to explain how they had found Sasuke and how despite their greatest fears he had followed them without a word's argument.

"Leave us." Team 7 looked up at the Hokage, Sakura's brow furrowed in confusion, she was about to speak up when she received a harsh glare from Tsunade.

"Why?" it was Naruto's voice, Team 7 turned to look at him.

"I have to tell the Uchiha his punishment." Came her measured reply, Sasuke knew she would also want to know what he was doing back here; there was a lot of explaining to do. He felt the slight pressure on his arm leave as Sakura took her hand away, he hadn't even been aware that she was still holding on to him until then. The Hokage nodded her head in the direction of the door and they all took the hint leaving the two of them alone, the moment the door had closed behind Kakashi, who had been the last to leave, Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the Uchiha. "So," Tsunade had two fingers pressed against her temple; "you came back…why?" she didn't want to beat around the bush, she wanted a straight answer from him.

"Obligation," was his reply, the woman in front of him quirked an eyebrow she knew he was a man of few words but he had to give her more than that; "the Akatsuki, my brother, they're planning an attack on Konoha." Quick to the point as always Sasuke's hidden agenda was finally out in the open.

Tsunade regarded the Uchiha with a cautious look, which told him that she didn't believe him; "How do I know I can trust your word?" Sasuke resisted the urge he had to roll his eyes, he took the threat to the village seriously, it had come from his brother's own mouth.

"Because it was Itachi who made the threat," he paused remembering his brother's words while Sakura had been unconscious; "He, uh also made a direct threat against Sakura's life." That got her attention.

"He did what?" Sasuke was mildly amused by the tone in which she spoke, she clearly cared for her apprentice. Sasuke noticed the way her fingers were twitching slightly.

"He said to me: 'You can't protect her all the time'," Sasuke paused and licked his lips; "this was after I had saved her from him, but before this I gathered information that the Akatsuki are planning a direct attack on Konoha, they want to destroy it and get Naruto." There was a long pause after he finished, he expected her to say something, anything at all.

Tsunade took a deep breath; "But why would that mean your return? You're a missing-nin you abandoned the village and all of your 'obligations'," she used his own word against him and Sasuke gritted his teeth; "unless you came here so that when Itachi arrives you can kill him?" she let out a humourless laugh; "where the massacre took place no less," she paused again; "alright, there isn't anything I can do to stop that, when will they arrive?"

"Two days," he watched as the Hokage flushed with anger.

"Cutting it a little fine don't you think?" the Uchiha's stoic expression didn't change.

He replied with a; "Hn." And Tsunade had to resist the urge to punch him; he was a little too calm about all of this for her liking.

"Right, your punishment, because after this is all over and done with you will be staying Uchiha mark my words." Sasuke had been expecting something like this, but he didn't see the need to argue, it would be nice to be home after all these years. He didn't reply just watched as she continued; "you will only be allowed to go on D-rank missions for 8 months, and if after that your behaviour has been perfect I may consider letting you do some C-rank," she narrowed her gaze at him hoping for some kind of a reaction; "you will be monitored at all times, I think I'll have Sakura do that," she watched as his eyebrows twitched, that was enough of a reaction for her, she smiled; "well that's all for now, your team are probably waiting outside for you." Sasuke took that as his cue to leave. He opened the door and was met by, Naruto, Kakashi and Sai, the confusion that he felt at not seeing Sakura must have shown because Kakashi smirked.

"She had a shift at the Hospital, you'll see her later." Sasuke tried to look nonchalant but her behaviour was still puzzling him.

"I'm hungry!" Naruto whined and Sasuke had to fight the urge to smile, looked like they were going to go get some ramen to settle the blonde's complaining stomach; "So teme, what punishment did Tsunade-baa-chan give you?" Naruto asked prying into Sasuke's private affairs. Sasuke contemplated ignoring him but thought it unwise as he knew that Naruto would not like being ignored and would only get louder, so he told him what Tsunade had said; "Pfft," he made a strange rasping noise as blew out from his lips; "she let you off easy teme." Sasuke knew that he was right, he had been expect at least some time in jail so that he would learn his lesson, he could survive 8 months of D-rank missions no problem. The question was however if any of them would survive what the Akatsuki had planned for them two nights from now.

--

It was about three hours later when Sakura joined them, she smiled politely before taking the bowl of ramen that Naruto offered her, she was sat between him and Sai, Sasuke noted that she didn't look at him once where as he couldn't take his eyes off her in her tight fitting outfit, it accentuated all of the right areas, he quickly turned his head away not wanting to be caught looking.

"So how was work?" it was Sai's voice, she looked up from her ramen and swallowed before replying.

"Exhausting." She replied rubbing her eyes and neck before giving him a weak smile.

"Are you too tired to come watch me kick Sasuke's butt on the training ground?" She smiled slightly and looked up at the Uchiha whose stoic expression showed the slightest hint of amusement, it was almost as if she'd forgotten that they'd brought him back.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," she grinned; "Oh, and Tsunade-shishou told me why you came back," her statement was directed at the Uchiha but she wasn't looking at him; "have you told them?" she was met with an icy silence.

Naruto looked from Sakura to Sasuke and back again; "What is she talking about teme?" Sakura raised and eyebrow at him.

"He only came back because in two days the Akatsuki are going to attack Konoha, and apparently his brother made a direct threat against my life." Naruto wasn't sure if he wanted to believe what Sakura was telling them, but she said that the Hokage had told her, as much so he knew that it was probably true; "You look disappointed Naruto."

Naruto didn't speak for a while; "Yeah, well I kind of hoped that he'd come home because of us and what would teme's brother want with you?" Sakura smiled at his naivety and then shrugged, she had no idea what Itachi would want with her but Sasuke had taken his brother's threat quite seriously it would seem. They fell into an uncomfortable silence, which was broken by a loud squeal.

"SASSUKKEE-KUUNNN!!" the four of them winced, Sakura then smirked.

"Hello Ino-pig." She said turning to her friend.

"Forehead, I heard that Sasuke-kun was back but I didn't believe it," she batted her eyelashes at the Uchiha; "and here you are." She said grinning.

"Hn." He was not in the mood for a fan girl, he looked to Naruto from some help, he offered none, he then looked at Sakura who smiled before sighing.

"Naruto, weren't you going to spar with Sasuke? Didn't I hear you say something about kicking his butt?" At that Naruto was on his feet.

"You know that I will." He said punching the air and grinning; "You ready teme?" Sasuke nodded grateful for the distraction, the four of them paid for their ramen and then walked past Ino who scowled at being ignored. Sai was going to make a comment about it, but simply shrugged, he would never understand them sometimes.

Sasuke and Naruto took up their positions facing one another their faces were the picture of determination, Sakura and Sai were sat to one side they might as well have got some popcorn as they waited to watch the show, Naruto moved first creating several shadow clones, Sasuke couldn't help but roll his eyes at his counterpart's trademark move. They dodged and fought and the match appeared to be equal, it was then that a fork of lightning lit up the heavy night air and rain began pouring quickly followed by a rumble of thunder. The two boys skidded to a halt hair and clothes drenched, they would have to call it a draw as Sakura wanted to go home and Sasuke had to go with her; "Come on!" she whined putting her hands over her head trying to keep dry, it wasn't working.

"Why does Sasuke-teme have to stay with you?" Naruto asked as they all ran in the direction of their respective houses.

Sakura stopped and shrugged; "Tsunade-sama said so, I have to keep an eye on him." She said before moving off towards her house waving good-bye to Naruto and Sai, Sasuke followed her, he didn't say a word, they moved inside her house and she rushed off to the bathroom to get them both some towels, she threw one at him and sat shivering on her sofa.

"A-are you ok?" it was the first time he had actually spoken to her, she looked up at him and smiled warmly.

"Cold." She replied, obviously he could see this, but, he'd asked a stupid question he should have expected a stupid answer; "You and Naruto were fighting like old times." She commented before getting to her feet and moving into the kitchen, he followed her.

"Sakura," she spun around to find herself looking in to his onyx eyes; "I…I," he didn't know what he was doing, didn't know what to say to her, it had been so long since he had seen her and now alone in her house with her watching as her lips quivered with cold, he felt the old Sasuke come back, that young carefree boy who had a family that loved him, he looked into her emerald eyes and saw something that he thought he'd lost.

"Sasuke?" she whispered his name and he took hold of her arms leaning his head in closer to her, she pulled away; "No Sasuke." She said pushing him back.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled.

"You can't just do that," she said turning her back on him; "You can't act like you haven't been gone all this time, we've been through hell looking for you, but now that you're back you can't pretend that you never left to go to Orochimaru, it'll take time for me to trust you again." She whispered the last bit but he heard her, it hurt but he knew that she was right, he couldn't pretend that he'd never left them, he'd done too much to think he could get away with that; "I'm going to bed." She told him.

"Sakura where are your parents? I would like to thank them," he paused as he noticed how she had tensed, she turned back to him and he noticed how her eyes were swimming in tears.

"They're dead Sasuke." She refused to provide how or why and turned away from him heading towards her bedroom. She showed Sasuke the guest room and he watched as she slammed her bedroom door, she was so different and he knew that he was partly to blame for that, he'd broken her heart by leaving, but things had happened to her that had broken her even more than he had.

-Flashback-

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto called her name as he watched her run towards her house, the Hokage had told them how the Haruno clan had been wiped out, she didn't even make it to her front door before she collapsed, they'd been on a mission and Sakura had been injured but she refused to heal herself or let Tsunade heal her until she was allowed to see her home; "Sakura," Naruto reached her, she had curled her body into the foetal position, Kakashi and Sai both reached her as well, Naruto was soon hugging her to his chest.

_She was crying and didn't show any sign of wanting to stop; "W-why," she sobbed banging her fist against his chest, Tsunade told them how it was similar to the Uchiha massacre, as there was only one person who survived it, Sakura. They didn't know who had done it but they were described as trained assassins. For weeks, Sakura wouldn't leave her house, she just sat on her parent's bed and wept until she ran out of tears, then she smashed. It was a Tuesday morning when Naruto found her throwing things out of the window and screaming her heart out. He'd never seen her so angry, he was sure that she didn't know what she was doing and if she had she would have stopped, he had to shake her to bring her to her senses._

"_Sakura-chan, please stop," he begged as he shook the pink hair Kunoichi, she dropped the picture frame she had been holding and looked at Naruto._

"_Naruto?" it was almost as if she had only just realised that he was there, he pulled her into a hug expecting her to begin crying again but she was all out of tears, it took a few more weeks before she was back to anything that could be called normal, but she was colder than before, her behaviour reminded them all of Sasuke but no one mentioned it, they didn't dare._

-Flashback-

Sakura cried herself to sleep for the first time since her parents died that night, and it took almost all of Sasuke's self control not to go in there and apologise or comfort her, he'd always said to her that she didn't know what loneliness was, he was almost certain that she knew now and that it had hurt her more than his leaving ever could. Perhaps if he had been there she would have had someone to talk to, someone who knew what it was like, someone who had been there and suffered the pain. Maybe she held that against him, he wasn't sure and wasn't about to find out by thinking over 'maybes' and 'what ifs', he'd have to ask her, in the morning, the normally emotionless Uchiha couldn't wash away this feeling of unrelenting guilt that had surrounded him, it had swallowed him whole and wasn't about to let him go.

A/N: I'm thinking of making that flashback into a story, what do you guys think? Yeah well that was chapter 3. Chapter 4 is going to be the preparation for the Akatsuki's attack you may see some more Saku/Sasu if you're lucky. Review please, it makes me happy. No flames thank you.


	4. Prepare For Battle

OK, so here is chapter 4, I hope that you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Wish I did.

**Chapter 4: Prepare for battle (A Day In The Life Of Haruno Sakura)**

The morning sunlight hit Sasuke's face as someone pulled the curtains open, he mumbled something before turning over trying to get some more sleep. Sakura made a tutting sound and Sasuke opened one eye and caught sight of pink, he wondered briefly where he was before remembering coming back to Konoha, apparently last night's storm had past and clear skies were all that was left. She didn't need to tell him to get up so she didn't, she simply sighed heavily before leaving the Uchiha to get himself up; "Sak-" he was about to say something when he heard his bedroom door close behind her, he opened both eyes to realise that he was alone. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, last night he had tried to get closer to her and she had shoved it back in his face, he wasn't sure why he had tried in the first place, it was very unlike him, he sighed and dragged a hand through his messy hair. Had Sasuke been more alert when Sakura had been in the room he would have noticed how her eyes were red and puffy due to the lack of sleep she had got and the fact that she had cried herself to sleep because of memories that he had evoked in her. By the time that he had got himself up and dressed Sakura was already making breakfast for the two of them, he would have asked her if she slept alright but he noticed her red rimmed eyes and thought better of it, a bowl of salad was placed to the Uchiha's left and he smirked noticing several tomatoes, he picked up one and took a big bite. Sakura who was completely unaware that he was in the room began to sing to herself as she cooked, Sasuke sat and listened to her harmonious voice, when she turned around to see him she almost dropped the frying pan.

"AH." She squeaked and was glad that she managed to catch the frying pan that almost went tumbling from her grip, unfortunately she grabbed the metal and managed to burn her hand, she swore under her breath before placing the frying pan down and examining her hand, large angry blisters could be seen forming on her fingertips.

Sasuke was on his feet and by her side in an instant; "Are you ok?" he asked sounding concerned, Sakura gave him a strange look.

"I'm fine Sasuke." She told him as she made her left, un-injured, hand glow with green chakra as she proceeded to heal herself; "I've had a lot worse." She told him, finding herself gazing into his eyes, she almost got lost in them before closing her eyes and shaking her head and looking away from him; "Well I made breakfast," she told him moving to a cupboard behind her to get the plates out, she got out two and placed them on the counter top Sasuke noticed that her hands were shaking but chose not to mention it.

"Do you need any help?" he asked.

"I'm not an invalid." She snapped back at him.

Sasuke was taken a back; "I never suggested that you were." He replied before moving away to take his seat again opposite her, she plated up the fry up and gave him his plate; "Arigato." He said and she nodded as if to say; _'You're welcome'_. The rest of breakfast was spent in silence, Sakura cleaned their plates once they were finished and refused his help once again.

"Tsunade-shishou said that I have to take you to work with me as you are not to be trusted yet, and we must prepare." He looked confused; "For the Akatsuki." She paused but looked as if she wanted to ask him something.

"What?" he asked her.

She bit her lip before answering him with a question of her own; "Did you really take Itachi's threat against my life seriously?" he could tell by the look in her eyes that she had been thinking about this ever since the Hokage had told her about it yesterday, and despite her bravado about it the day before she was actually quite worried.

"My brother does not mince his words." Was Sasuke's answer, in other words; _'Yes I do.'_

She sighed heavily before moving away to pick up all that she needed for that day's work she paused and looked at him; "Are you coming?" she said standing in the open doorway, in seconds he was by her side and they were off to the hospital, the journey was silent mainly because Sakura didn't want to talk and the stoic Uchiha wasn't all that fond of communicating verbally either.

"Good morning Shizune." Sakura greeted the Hokage's aid who smiled at her.

"Tsunade-sama wants to see you both before your rounds begin this morning." Shizune told them, Sakura nodded and headed off to the emergency room, she had pretty good idea that the Hokage would be there and was correct.

"Sakura," she called her over, Sasuke followed; "ok Uchiha you will not leave her side all day," Sakura was about to mention something about going to the toilet but was silenced by one look from the Hokage; "I want you to work here for 4 hours and then you will join Naruto and Sai in warning the village about the Akatsuki attack, we want every person with ninja training to be armed and ready for this and for those without training to get to some place of safety." Tsunade looked away from her apprentice and then back again; "What are you still standing there for?" Sakura mumbled an apology and rushed away.

"Ok we're on ward 7." Sakura smiled thinking of team 7 Sasuke followed her on to the children's ward, they past many very ill children and Sasuke felt his stomach clench as he tried not to look at them it was because of this that when Sakura stopped in front of a private room he did not notice and walked straight into her. "Sasuke." She hissed agitatedly at him.

He gave her an apologetic look; "Hn." _'Sorry'_ was his reply, she rolled her eyes before pushing the door open.

"Good morning Kai." She said walking over to the boy in the bed he smiled at her weakly.

"Good morning Sakura-sama." He was trying to sit up but apparently didn't have enough strength in his arms to do so, Sakura moved to his bed side and helped him up he smiled up at her grateful that she hadn't made a fuss. He then looked up and noticed that Sasuke was in the room, he reached for Sakura's sleeve and tugged gently, she looked at him; "Who is that?" he whispered. Sakura smiled.

"This is Uchiha Sasuke, he's going to be helping me out today." The boy clearly knew of Sasuke's prestigious clan and bowed his head in respect, Sakura smirked; "You don't have to Kai, he is after all a missing-nin. Or he was a missing-nin." She told the boy who then looked startled, Sakura smiled; "Don't worry, I'm keeping an eye on him." She said giving Kai a wink, she picked up his chart at the end of his bed; "How are you feeling today?"

There was a long pause as he thought about it; "A little better." He smiled.

"You had the treatment yesterday?" she looked up as he nodded, according to the chart he wasn't doing any better and probably wouldn't recover, she smiled weakly at him; "I'll have one of the nurses check you over Kai, see if you have improved at all." He smiled at her and she looked at Sasuke who had been watching her; "Come on Uchiha we have plenty of work to be done." She nodded her head towards the door before giving Kai a wave goodbye.

"Goodbye Sakura-sama." The boy practically sang. Sasuke watched Sakura as they worked their way through her shift, she seemed emotionally attached to each and every person that she treated, they would all perk up upon seeing her and she knew all of their names and knew what was wrong with them without looking at their chart, he was impressed, not that he would admit it out loud, but she had grown up and her emotions were intact, surely she'd had to watch plenty of people die, people who she cared for, people who she loved, he thought that would have hardened her to the world, but the bright smile that she met each patient with told a different story. Sasuke thought of what she'd told him the night before, or what she hadn't told him, all he knew was that her parents were dead, he didn't know how, when or why and he would like to.

Sakura looked up at the clock, four hours had sped by, she'd almost forgotten that Sasuke was with her he was so quiet; "Well it looks like we're done here." She said turning to the stoic Uchiha, Sasuke wanted to say something to her, tell her that he was impressed and proud of her, but the words just wouldn't come. The silence that they walked in was slowly getting to him and Sasuke had to say something soon, or he would explode.

"You are an efficient worker." Sasuke mentally kicked himself, was that all he could say, that she was efficient, that's hardly a complement, he was going to amend his statement when he saw that she was smiling; "What?" he asked confused.

"I think that might be the nicest thing you have ever said to me." Now that, made him feel guilty, surely he'd said nice things to her in the past, when she hadn't been annoying him and asking him to go out with her, or needing him to save her. He couldn't think of a specific instance so he concluded that sadly she was correct. They met up with Naruto and Sai as they instructed a family on how to prepare for tomorrow.

"We're asking every able bodied man and woman to help with the fight, and anything you can do will help us greatly." Naruto's calm serious tone was startling to put it lightly, the humour that usually danced in his eyes was gone replaced by a solemn look that made all the people he spoke to take him quite seriously. The four of them found that most of the people they spoke to did not need to be coerced into preparing for battle, they could tell that it was serious, they were all in danger, and tomorrow they would be put to the ultimate test one which would result in their death. Sasuke watched as Sakura told people of the village to prepare, he noticed the respect that they all had for her and couldn't hide a small smirk that met his lips.

"What are you smirking at?" Sakura asked him watching as he tried to hide it once more.

"I wasn't smirking." Came the cold reply from the stoic Uchiha, Sakura chose not to press on knowing Sasuke he wouldn't want to talk about his feelings, but then again last nights advance had been awfully out of character for him, she could have sworn that if she hadn't stopped him he would have kissed her. Talk about confusing, normally he was the one always pushing her away, no one would have thought that she would be able to push him away. Sakura made a promise to herself, she wouldn't mention last night to him, she'd put it down to a momentary laps in sanity on his part. She wasn't about to go and get her hopes up only to see them dashed. They met up with Naruto and Sai at 10:30 they had warned the whole village and were all very tired.

"Good work team." Sakura said smiling at the group, her eyes were feeling heavy and Sasuke had to guide her back to her house, he smile inwardly as he watched her head straight to her bedroom, she deserved some sleep she'd been working all day, and would need her energy for the next day, he heard her mumble a brief; "Goodnight Sasuke." Before her door closed behind her. Tomorrow would certainly be interesting to put it lightly. Sasuke did not get to sleep as easily as his pink haired team mate, his brother's words were echoing through his mind making sleep nigh on impossible he was worried that they wouldn't all make it out alive. There was a foundation behind these thoughts, he knew how strong his brother was, he knew how long he had trained to try and become strong enough to kill him, what if it hadn't been enough though? What would he do if he couldn't kill his brother after all this time. That simply wasn't an option, there was no room for self doubt he had to kill him or he would end up dead. Tomorrow would be the day of reckoning.

* * *

A/N: Ok so that was chapter 4, little bit of SxS in there but I'm just teasing you. I have only started chapter 5 today so that might take a while, but I go on study leave next week so when I'm not revising for my A Levels I shall be writing for you. So anyway, you know the drill, review please, and no flames thank you.


	5. The Dawn

**This took longer 'cause I had writers block half way through, but it's ok. I hope that you enjoy this, I'm not all that good at writing fight scenes. I apologise for Sasuke's foul language in this chapter, I'll have to wash it out with soap and water. In this fic Deidara is still alive 'cause he's my favourite Akatsuki. Yeah. There was something else I wanted to say, but I can't remember...oh yeah (half an hour later) this hasn't been checked so if there are errors that is why.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**Chapter 5: The Dawn**

The distant sound of movement in the hallway caused Sakura to stir, she sat up slowly before raking a hand through her pink locks, she smiled to herself before realising what today was. She frowned and swung her legs out of bed, the clock on her bedside table read; 4:55, the red numbers glaring at her in the darkness of her room, the sun hadn't risen yet and Sakura wondered briefly if the Akatsuki would really attack this early in the morning, surely getting up at this ungodly hour was painful even for them. After her brief thoughts on how cruel the Akatsuki were forcing her to wake up now, she washed herself and got dressed she heard Sasuke out in the hall again realising that it had been his movement that had woken her, she pulled her door open to see him heading for the kitchen fully dressed with a katana on his back.

"You think again if you think I'm letting you have a sword at the table." Sakura quipped letting the Uchiha know that she was behind him, but apparently her joke was not appreciated.

"Sakura," he paused after whispering her name; "many will die today." His prophecy was not one she wanted to hear, she closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Was her firm reply, all thoughts of trying to lighten the mood had gone, he'd seen to that, there was a long silence while Sakura studied the Uchiha, she wondered briefly if the 12 year old boy that she had so worshiped was still in there somewhere; "Once Itachi is dead, will you stay? I mean," she paused and noticed that he was watching her waiting silently for her to continue, he was good at that, he was remarkably good at silence; "I know that Tsunade-shishou said that you have to stay but, I'm not sure that you have anything to stay for."

"Do you want me to say that I will stay for you?" the cold tone made his words sting and Sakura failed to stop herself from blushing.

"NO." Her answer was too firm, and she knew it, Sasuke had looked down at his katana, which he had moved into his lap, but the tone of her voice caused him to look up again, he raised an eyebrow at her; "I mean, you said once that you'd broken all ties with us, yet here you are," confidence was finding it's way to her voice the Sakura who had brought him home was the one now talking, the strong 17 year old who had lost more than she cared to show but still had a warm smile for those who she cared about. Sasuke would bitterly remember that he was no longer a recipient of such a smile, but he would not believe that she didn't care about him. "Will you be here to deal with the aftermath? Will you help Konoha rebuild after this attack?" she quirked an eyebrow at him, she knew that he wasn't going to answer her. All of her insecurities were bubbling up onto the surface laying herself open for him to rip her apart all over again, yet he didn't. He simply watched her in is silent manner that unnerved her, a smirk crossed his lips as he watched her move to the kitchen to make some breakfast.

"It would be an idea to save your chakra and try not to burn yourself today." She looked up at him and glared, hiding the shock at the fact that Sasuke Uchiha had just made a joke.

Sakura finished making breakfast without incident and as she handed Sasuke his plate she saw a small smile grace his lips. The sun was beginning to rise and Sakura knew what that meant, the battle was almost upon them, she cast a sideways glance at the stoic Uchiha who had already finished eating, she finished her food and got to her feet, there was little point bothering with the dishes, they didn't know if they'd be back. The outskirts was where the new team 7 plus Sasuke had been posted, they met as the sun reached the tops of the trees, everyone's senses were heightened by the adrenaline pumping through them. The smallest noise would cause Sasuke to flinch and activate his Sharingan, only on Sakura's instruction to; "Calm down and sit down, your nervousness is making me nervous." Naruto smiled to himself as he watched the two of them, the change in their behaviour towards each other over the years that they had been apart was hardly noticeable. Sai watched from above them in the trees, his eyes flitting from the scene below to the trees around them, he could feel something a presence was looming over them and would be there soon.

"Can you feel it?" he called down to them noting that his team mates were all on their feet and were in a battle ready stance. They all nodded, they could feel 'it', this person's chakra was powerful, so powerful that it filled team 7 with a sense of dread that they had never felt before.

"Madara." Sakura glanced at Sasuke who had uttered the name as if it were a curse.

"What?" Sakura turned on him, she knew that name, she'd heard it before, but long ago; "What did you just say?" she grabbed the front of his clothes demanding answers from him.

"That chakra," he paused looking into her bright green eyes; "belongs to Uchiha Madara." Sasuke paused again looking over her shoulder; "I can sense Itachi too." Sakura pulled away and looked into the trees, they were all coming this way the Akatsuki. She swallowed hard and cast a glance at Naruto who was preparing to create shadow clones to help them defeat the Akatsuki. Sakura clenched her fists before pulling her gloves on it was time.

An explosion to their left was the sign that the Akatsuki had reached them, the four members of team 7 were on high alert Naruto was prowling round in a circle eyes darting around him looking for any signs of movement. A deep throaty laugh reached them, Sasuke spun around; "So the Uchiha prodigy has returned home." The voice was coming from above and team 7 looked up to see Uchiha Itachi standing on the tops of the trees; "Looking for me?" Sasuke made no move to reply, his eyes narrowed at his brother. Sasuke moved, he pounced on his brother faster than anyone else could have seen, Sakura gasped as she saw Sasuke tackle Itachi, he had a kunai drawn pulled against his brother's throat a loud throaty laugh come from above team 7 who all looked up.

"While Itachi-san deals with Sasuke-kun, I would appreciate it if you didn't get in the way." The man that team 7 knew as Tobi was addressing them, but his voice was different, it was scarily calm, Sakura glanced at where she'd last seen Sasuke and Itachi, they were no longer within view, Sakura felt he heart drop into her stomach, this fight would mean the death of one of them. That fact was undeniable; "Your attention would be appreciated." Sakura looked up at the masked face of Tobi her eyes widened he was coming towards her, she barely dodged the kunai held in his right hand, she glanced behind her and noticed that Naruto, his shadow clones and Sai were engaged in battle with two other Akatsuki members, she then cast her gaze back at Tobi who was preparing himself for another attack; "I have heard of your skills as a medic Haruno." Sakura pulled a kunai from the pouch on her leg, she wasn't in the mood for a chat. With a leap forwards she tackled the masked Akatsuki to the floor, she was aware that he was powerful, knew that he could easily kill her, but she wasn't about to let him and his friends destroy Konoha. She threw kicks and punches, swiped at him with the kunai, but didn't make contact at all, she rolled away and looked at him aghast.

"What are you?" she asked panting slightly.

"I think a more appropriate question should be 'who am I'." He was mocking her, she could tell by the slight lift in his voice. Sakura growled and ran at him again, she was angry, and that was exactly what Tobi wanted, for while she was angry she would not concentrate, that would make her easy to overpower, easy to kill.

-

The sun had risen above the trees now, not that Sasuke could see it, for the trees blocked out the sun's rays from view, he paused to catch his breath, his brother was watching him calculating, measuring; "Well Sasuke, here we are," he paused as he took a step forwards. Sasuke narrowed his gaze at his brother, he knew Itachi would try and goad him, he would try to make him angry.

"Don't talk." Sasuke bit back at him, as he held his composure. Sasuke moved forwards only to have Itachi move out of the way, Sasuke swung around slashing out at his brother with his katana. The blade caught his Akatsuki cloak ripping it, Sasuke smirked as his brother removed the now ripped cloak; "That's not the only thing I'll be ripping to shreds." Itachi was surprised that his brother was talking to him after he had expressly told him not to talk. Sasuke could hear a battle raging behind him and he wondered who was fighting but didn't dare turn his back on his brother. Sasuke tried not to dwell on the sound of trees being destroyed as he strode forwards creating a full body Chidori that made Itachi take an involuntary step back; "You took my life, I'm taking yours." It was clichéd but wasn't a lie, Sasuke hadn't had a chance to live, and that was Itachi's fault, this would be his penance, his life. The fight continued, each brother grunting in pain as the other managed to get a hit in on the other. Sasuke wasn't about to play by the rules with Itachi, he had been waiting for this for far too long. They fought, Sasuke in a blind rage, he had the hatred that Itachi had wanted him to achieve. It was time.

"You sensed him didn't you?" Itachi paused for breath leaning against a tree, Sasuke watched him clutching his ribs that were bleeding; "Madara, you can feel him even now. Familiar yet strange." Itachi glanced behind them to where Sakura and 'Tobi' were fighting; "She'll lose, and you'll be so busy exacting your revenge that you won't be able to save her."

"She can hold her own in a fight." Was Sasuke's reply, though the worry that crossed his expression was noted by his brother.

"Yes, but can she hold her own against Uchiha Madara?" Sasuke knew that his brother was trying to distract him, he was trying and succeeding. Itachi smirked as he noticed the discomfort that his brother was in, he was torn, he needed to kill Itachi, it was something he had sworn to himself that he would do since the age of 8, but she was Sakura. His pink haired team mate, the medic, the one who's back he _always_ watched.

"She will be fine." Sasuke bit back through gritted teeth. Itachi raised an eyebrow in amusement, with a blink of the eye he was gone, Sasuke whirled around, trying to sense his brother's chakra, up, down, left, right, in front, behind? No. None of them. "Sakura." He whispered, Itachi had threatened her personally, he had tried to get Sasuke to talk about her, he wanted her for something, needed her. Turning he saw that Sakura was now surrounded by a man in an Akatsuki cloak and one without; his brother.

-

Upon seeing Uchiha Itachi Sakura felt her blood freeze in her veins, surely it couldn't be over already, he couldn't be dead. That predatory look in his eyes told her that something was up, something she didn't want to find out about; "You broke my jaw." Itachi growled as he took a step towards her.

"You're still angry about that?" she asked, watching him, he was dangerous he'd killed almost every single member of his family without a second thought.

"I didn't get to pay you back, my brother got in the way." The elder Uchiha replied with a sly grin.

"ITACHI!" that voice, Sakura looked up and smiled; "WE AREN'T FINISHED." Sasuke narrowed his gaze at him brother who ignored him.

Itachi turned to look at Madara who still had his mask on; "Show him your face, Madara, then I want you to deal with him." Madara smiled behind his mask, his left hand rose from under his cloak as he did what Itachi had told him and removed the mask. The younger Uchiha had to take a step backwards, he had been told that it was Madara, but he hadn't quite believed him. Until now.

"Shit." Itachi cackled at his brother's reaction.

"Don't take your eyes of the girl we still need her." Madara ordered, he needn't have worried, Sakura was frozen to the spot and wasn't about to go anywhere. Sasuke glanced at her worriedly, what exactly could they want with her. He didn't get a chance to ask as Madara pounced. Sakura watched as what was formerly her opponent, tackled Sasuke to the ground, they fell together and landed like sacks of potatoes. She wanted to help him but knew that Itachi probably wouldn't let her go. She looked at him, wondering what exactly it was that he wanted with her, she would have asked but her voice had left her, fear freezing it before it could reach her lips.

Apparently he could read her mind because he spoke up; "You will find out soon enough my little blossom." The tone of his voice scared her, the predatory look in his eye sent shivers running up and down her spine.

Before she knew what she was doing she felt chakra being forced into her right fist, it began glowing blue and she then found that she was moving towards him and picking up speed, even he hadn't expected it she knew this because she saw the change in his eyes, shock, she met him, with a shattering blow to the gut, and because he hadn't been expecting it, he didn't have time to dodge, or prepare, and she hit him with the full force of her strength, she could feel his insides buckle under the force of the blow. It was as if time had stopped the moment she hit him, the trickle of blood that slipped from his mouth in a silent scream that never reached his voice box. Time seemed to be triggered once more as Itachi flew backwards into the trees behind him. Sakura stood still staring dumbly at her still clenched fist. A part of her hoped that he wasn't dead; she didn't want to have taken away Sasuke's revenge after all this time. A groan from somewhere in the trees told her that he was still alive, but barely conscious.

"SASUKE!" she cried out her knees giving way, a weakness overcame her that she hadn't foreseen. Sasuke however was busy trying to deal with Uchiha Madara. It was Naruto who reached her first.

"Sakura-chan." He called out to her, his finger nails and teeth looked sharper than that of a normal person, she deduced that he had borrowed some chakra from the Kyuubi, she raised a hand to tell him that she was fine, but she noticed that she was shaking, apparently she had used up more chakra than she had first thought. She managed to steady her hand enough to place in on his shoulder.

"You have to help Sasuke, I'm fine. He's fighting Uchiha Madara." Fear shot into Naruto's eyes upon hearing that name. He was confused, surely it couldn't be Madara; "GO." She shouted at him pushing him away from her; "I'll be fine." She reassured him as he looked back at her worriedly. The weakness in her knees had been momentary, she got shakily to her feet, her gaze lingered on the prone form of Uchiha Itachi, she couldn't just leave him there, when he came to he would want to carry on fighting. Sakura decided the best course of action would be to tie him to a tree with chakra strings. It took her a while with the depleted chakra levels, she required some help from Sai who had already dispatched his Akatsuki member. She propped him up as Sai gave her some of his chakra to tie him to the tree with, she made sure they were tight and strong enough to hold him.

"What now?" Sai's voice held no emotion as always. Sakura exhaled heavily but did not reply, her eyes were fixed on the place where Sasuke, Madara and Naruto had disappeared. She wanted so badly to go and offer them some help, but something told her that she and Sai would be needed back in Konoha, those who were fighting for their lives, they would need her, Sai was watching her, she still hadn't answered his question; "Sakura." Perhaps it was because he had used her name, but she turned to look at him, her mouth was hanging open, as she looked at him dumbly; "What do we do now?" he asked her again, this time slower.

"We..." she paused looking back at the trees; "we need to get back to Konoha, they will need help." She glanced at Itachi who hadn't stirred since being tied to the tree.

"He isn't going anywhere." Sai had read the concerned look on her face as she looked at the Uchiha. She nodded in agreement before taking off at speed towards Konoha, the sound of metal meeting metal and people's screams was the first thing that they heard. Sai darted left while Sakura headed towards the hospital, Tsunade would want to know what was going on. Sasuke's earlier prophecy of many dead seemed to have been accurate, the bodies littered the streets, battered and broken.

"FOREHEAD!" Ino's voice rang through the sound of the battle, Sakura turned to see her friend running towards her.

"Ino." She paused looking Ino over to check for any injuries.

"I'm fine," she reassured her; "where have you been?" she asked, "I saw you before they arrived where were you?" Sakura didn't really think that now was the time for an explanation. The sound of something dropping from the sky could be heard; this caused Sakura to look up. She only just had enough time to get herself and Ino, out of the way of the clay bird that exploded on impact with the ground leaving a small crater in the space where they had previously been standing. Sakura got to her feet and look up at the blond Akatsuki member who had aimed his explosive at them.

"I have to go Ino, keep fighting." She told her friend as she ran as fast as she could towards Konoha hospital. All the time that she was running her mind remained with Naruto and Sasuke, who were still fighting Uchiha Madara, she was able to say from personal experience that he isn't an easy opponent to take on. Perhaps if Naruto and Sasuke worked together they would be able to take him down. Team work was the key.

TBC...

* * *

A/N: Ok have already worned you that I'm not good at fight scenes. Review please, it makes me happy. No flames thank you.


	6. Unexpected

Hi. So I should really apologise for how long this took to write and post up. Once again I had writers block, I got over it.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 6: Unexpected **

Perhaps it was the taste of blood that lingered on his lips, or the sound of distant screams coming from Konoha, or maybe it was that he still had ties to these people- but Uchiha Sasuke couldn't help but feel sorry for the people of Konoha. So many of them would not have been ready for this battle. A day's notice is not enough for someone to be ready to fight or to die. Naruto stood beside him; he was struggling to contain the beast inside him that wanted so desperately to break free. Sasuke knew that they could not allow that to happen. Madara had controlled the Kyuubi once before and he wouldn't hesitate to do it once again. Sasuke's eyes lingered on Naruto, he was crouched not ten feet away panting heavily.

"Sakura-chan wasn't joking when she said that you needed help." Sasuke's eyes narrowed, when he had been tackled by Madara, Sakura had been left with his brother. Sasuke would have said that it was she who required help; "She's fine by the way." Naruto answered the unasked question and hung in the air between them. Had he been anyone else Uchiha Sasuke would have said something that voiced the fact that he was pleased she was still alive, as it was; he merely grunted and looked towards Madara who was watching Naruto with an unwanted level of interest.

"Dobe I don't need your help." Sasuke told him. Naruto frowned but ignored him; Sasuke was never one to ask for help, even if he needed it most desperately. Naruto wasn't going anywhere.

"Shut up Teme you know you do, and you'll have my help whether you like it or not." Sasuke sent Naruto one of his patented Uchiha death glares as he rolled his eyes. Madara who had placed his mask back on was smirking behind it.

"Now, now don't squabble." Naruto growled at Madara, he wasn't quite sure how he and Sasuke were planning on attacking him. Naruto yelped slightly as Sasuke pounced forwards at Madara, didn't he know that only fools rush in? Naruto had to duck slightly as Sasuke was thrown back towards him.

"Don't need my help?" Naruto muttered to himself as he moved over to Sasuke to check that he was still conscious. Sharingan eyes glared up at the Kyuubi container, the proffered hand was quickly withdrawn, Sasuke glared over Naruto's shoulder at Madara who seemed happy just to watch them.

"What do you want with me Madara?" Sasuke's voice rang through the trees, he watched the one eye that was visible beneath the mask, there was no change, no inclination that he was bout to answer Sasuke's question; "ANSWER ME!" Sasuke lost his temper.

"Me, want with you?" the chuckle that came from under that mask sent shivers down Naruto's spine, it was cruel, cold, and mirthless; "Well don't we have a big ego?" there was a paused and Madara moved closer to the pair who watched him silently; "Whoever said that I wanted you in the first place?" Sasuke felt the cold hand of fear clutch at his heart, if Madara didn't want him, what did he want.

"What do you want then?" it was Naruto's voice that asked the question spinning in Sasuke's mind.

Madara laughed again; "Konoha's annihilation, and perhaps a certain pink haired medic." It was at this that Naruto seemed to lose all composure, he charged at Madara.

"NO NARUTO!" Sasuke tried to call him back. But Naruto either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him as he charged, Madara simply flicked him aside. He landed heavily against a tree, the cracking noise that followed signified the tree breaking in two. He remained motionless for a couple of seconds before lifting his blonde head, his narrowed eyes were no longer blue, Sasuke winced as he also noticed that his teeth and fingernails looked longer and sharper than before, the Kyuubi was threatening to take over; "Control yourself Naruto!" Sasuke's firm voice was enough to get Naruto's attention. The blonde struggled to contain the beast.

"Need some help with that?" Sasuke blinked as he noticed that Madara was now stood directly in front of Naruto, he was obviously referring to the nine-tailed beast.

"Leave him alone." Sasuke pulled his katana out from behind his back, he gripped the hilt almost painfully.

Madara turned to look at him, and Sasuke assumed that if he could see his face he would look amused, the one Sharingan eye glinted as he surveyed Sasuke before pouncing.

--

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" the rage in Tsunade's voice was probably due to a lack of sake, she had screamed at Sakura and Sai when they entered the hospital.

Sakura cowered slightly, but her voice remained firm as ever when she replied; "We have news to report Shishou," Sakura paused catching her breath; "Uchiha Madara is fighting with Sasuke and Naruto." Tsunade looked stunned, her mouth fell open in shock but she didn't speak; "And," she paused wondering is she should say what she waned to; "Uchiha Itachi seemed to want me for something." Sakura mumbled the last bit but Tsunade heard her and frowned, what could he want with the pink haired Kunoichi.

"Thank you for reporting this Sakura, but you need to get back on to the battle field," Sakura glanced around at the walking wounded around her; "we're managing, if I need your help I'll have someone find you, now go!" Sakura bolted away and didn't look back, she ran down the halls Sai at her heels, when the reached the outside the mid-day sun hit their faces causing the pair to squint slightly.

"You go left, I'll take the right." Sakura didn't wait for Sai's response, she was gone before he could blink more than twice in the sunlight. Sakura pulled two kunai from the pouch on her leg as she entered the fray.

--

Sai had claimed that Uchiha Itachi wasn't going anywhere, it would have been safe to say that he overestimated the power of Sakura's chakra strings to hold the great Uchiha Itachi, the tree that he had been tied to had been uprooted. Itachi now stalked towards the battle his brother was fighting with Madara. The moment he emerged from the bushes, his eyes locked with Sasuke's, the fear that flashed across them was unmistakable, however it was not fear of Itachi, but of what his appearance could mean to the wellbeing of a certain pink haired medic. Naruto said that she was fine, but his brother's unexpected appearance told a different story. Madara glared at Itachi, he had told him not to leave the girl alone, the fact that he was here meant one of two things; 1) Sakura had overpowered him and had gotten away or 2) Itachi had killed her. The first option was amusing, if an annoyance while the second didn't bother him personally it was Itachi who wanted her after all. Pein hadn't instructed them to take the pink haired medic, and as he was still falling under the guise of leader it was best to pretend to follow the orders that Pein gave.

Of course it was Naruto who spoke up first, he looked around for any glimpse of pink; "Where is Sakura-Chan?!"

Something flashed across Itachi's eyes and Naruto had to stop himself from attacking the Uchiha, Itachi did not give them an answer, he simply gazed up at Madara, had he been able to see his whole face he would have seen annoyance; "Need any help?" Itachi asked.

Madara growled, it looked as though there was more than a little unrest among the Akatsuki, Itachi was clearly questioning the abilities of Madara; "You insolent..." he did not continue as he remembered that they still had an audience; "does it look like I need your help?" the question was rhetorical but Itachi surveyed Madara's opponents clearly calculating a reply to the question.

"Yes." The speed at which Madara pounced at Itachi was not the most starling thing. The fact that he was attacking him in the first place was what caused Naruto and Sasuke to gasp so dramatically. They knew that two Uchiha would be battling today but they never thought that it would be those two. They drew apart and began circling each other, trust was something neither Uchiha held in high regard. They were dangerous, they wouldn't hesitate to kill each other.

"Sasuke." Naruto's voice was so quiet that Sasuke questioned whether the boy stood next to him really was Uzumaki Naruto. The Uchiha turned to look at the blonde whose eyes were fixed on the battle before them; "I think we should go…" Sasuke did not like that sound of that, it sounded like Naruto was suggesting a retreat; "We can't hope to beat both of them, and one of them may kill the other." That made Sasuke clench his jaw.

"You think I am about to walk away from my revenge when I am so close?" he asked, there was only one real answer to that question, Naruto sighed.

"Something has happened to Sakura-Chan, she could be dead for all we know, that bastard of a brother of yours could have killed her." Naruto's eyes moved from the battle to fix on Sasuke, he now watched the battle in his eyes, there was a small unknown part of him that wanted to find Sakura, it was the part that had been scared when he'd seen Itachi re-appear, but there was also the part of him that so desperately wanted revenge.

"You go." Sasuke's reply was not the one that Naruto wanted to hear. Surly Sasuke knew that if he stayed he might not come back, this could be it. Naruto wondered briefly if Sasuke was doing it on purpose, if he wanted to die.

"I can't just leave you," Sasuke glared at him; "Sakura would never forgive me."

Sasuke interrupted him; "If she's still alive, find her," he paused as Naruto's faced darkened at the thought of Sakura being dead; "I'm not about to get myself killed before I have completed my revenge. I promise." Naruto smiled at him and nodded.

"Ok Sasuke-Teme, I'll be back you better believe it." Sasuke watched as Naruto bounded away up into the trees back towards where they had last seen Sakura.

--

Sakura dodged as an Akatsuki ninja came at her, his blonde hair fell over one eye, he grinned at her as he used his hands to mould some clay into a bird that he was preparing to throw at her again. Sakura jumped out of the way of the falling missile, the large hole that was left in the ground was disconcerting to put it lightly, some of the debris caught her and scratched her arms and legs, the minor injuries were of little concern but the fact that Deidara the Akatsuki who had been attacking her was retreating. She looked around for any signs of the battle ending, when she saw none she knew that something was wrong. She watched in horror as Deidara dropped a few clay birds on unsuspecting victims below, one happed to be Ino.

Sakura cursed under her breath before screaming out her ex-best friend's name; "INO LOOK OUT!" she may have been in time to warn Ino of the majority of the blast, she couldn't however stop a second bird from falling, she watched as Ino was tossed aside by the explosion as if she were nothing more than a rag doll. She ran, as fast as she could towards where Ino now lay. Shikamaru was stood a short distance away and watched as Sakura knelt beside his teammate; "Ino, Ino, wake up." She shook her, two fingers pressed against the side of her neck to check for a pulse, she found one and breathed a sigh of relief. Shikamaru watched as Sakura seemed to relax, he let out a breath that he didn't know he'd been holding in. Sakura beckoned him over towards her; "She's out cold, I need you to get her to the hospital, she needs to be checked out, ok?" when he didn't respond she reached up, grabbed the front of his Jonin jacket, and shook him; "Nara Shikamaru, are you listening to me?" he nodded, she watched as he moved to pick the unconscious blonde, one arm went under her knees as he carried her bridal style to the hospital.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" the sound of her name being bellowed caused her head to turn, Naruto came bounding towards her, he enveloped her in a huge hug not appropriate for a battle field.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" she asked, as she was unaware that Itachi had escaped.

"When Itachi appeared we feared the worst." Sakura's eyes widened, she looked around for any sign of the stoic Uchiha she had become so attached to, she couldn't deny that battling on the same side as him once more was nice. She was about to ask him where Sasuke was when Naruto gave her his reply; "He stayed behind, Itachi and Madara were fighting, I don't know why. But I had to find you. We thought Itachi had killed you!" Sakura tried to see it from Naruto's point of view, she bit her lip and backed away from Naruto, before Naruto had a chance to stop her Sakura had begun running; "Where are you...NO SAKURA-CHAN YOU CAN'T!" she didn't stop despite Naruto's pleas.

She ran as far and as fast as she could back to where she had tied Itachi, she paused momentarily at the tree, it was for the briefest of moments as she surveyed the damage that he had done. She then heard the sound of shouting before an extreme heat hit her face. She looked up to see a fireball was heading towards her at an alarming speed, she knew there was no way that she could avoid it entirely, Sakura threw herself to the ground and placed her hands over her head. Sakura winced slightly as she felt the skin on her arms burn and peel under the immense heat of the fireball, she wandered briefly as she got gingerly to her feet which Uchiha had sent the fireball through the trees. She dusted off her skirt and looked down at her arms that were bleeding, her hand began glowing green as she healed one arm as quickly as possible before moving onto the other. Once the skin on her arms had knitted itself back together, she began moving more carefully towards where the three remaining members of the Uchiha clan were still fighting. When Naruto had left him Sasuke had been standing back, now however he seemed to be caught up in a battle between his brother and the founder of Akatsuki, two very powerful S-class criminals, Sakura was well aware of what she was walking into. Her safety wasn't the first thing on her mind as she walked closer to the fight, apprehension making her palms sweaty, she felt a fear that caused her heart to clench painfully, she was more than a little worried for Sasuke's life. Upon reaching the battle ground Sakura's eyes widened at the sight that met her.

A/N: I am not evil. OK I might be a little evil. Or a lot, but don't kill me ok? I don't much like the ending paragraph...seems rushed to me. Well reviews are lovely and they might make me type faster, I can't make any promises though, no flames thank you. I shall now get onto chapter 7. Promise.

EDIT: I noticed some errors so I re-posted with them corrected.


	7. When the fire burns

And once again I would like to apologise for how slow this has been, I keep getting writers block. I also apologise for Sasuke being OOC he loses his head a little bit here.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 7: When the fire burns**

She had to shield her face slightly as she looked at the burning inferno that had once been a wooded area. Every tree was on fire in a circle, Sakura tried her hardest not to cough as fumes fought to enter her lungs, surprise would be her greatest asset, and without it she had nothing, to maintain her hidden status Sakura got as high as she could in a tree that was not on fire, from her vantage point she could see all of the damage their fight had done. Sasuke, Itachi and Madara were no where to be seen, but Sakura wasn't about to come out of her own hiding place to look for them. The ground had been scorched by the fireball that an Uchiha had released, Sakura wondered if this devastation was an amalgamation of three fireballs impacting against each other. She didn't have enough time to linger on that thought as a movement down below caught her attention, her heart pounded as she hoped beyond hope that it would be the youngest of the three, sadly, her prayers were not answered and it was Itachi who emerged looked windswept and rather worse for wear, a large gash could be see on his arm, without his Akatsuki cloak that Sasuke had ripped to shreds earlier each wound was more noticeable as it couldn't be hidden.

"We end this!" a voice from the trees nearer than Sakura had anticipated caused her heart to beat faster, she knew that voice, knew who it belonged to. To her immense delight Uchiha Sasuke jumped down from a tree not more than 20 feet from her position. Madara was no where to be seen, had they worked together to kill Madara? Was it even possible to kill Madara? Surely even the suggestion that Sasuke and Itachi had worked together was ridiculous, Sasuke's one and only goal in life was to kill Itachi. Working with him was most certainly out of the question.

"Do we Sasuke? Well Ototo-san? Is this to be the place for our final battle?" Itachi's tone was more than a little condescending. Sakura shifted in the tree uncomfortably, the view she had was limited at best, she could still only see Itachi as Sasuke had yet to move. Neither brother knew that she was watching them, Sakura tried to peer round the trees to see where exactly Sasuke was, her foot slipped slightly and she shifted forwards, Itachi reacted to the rustle of trees, his eyes moved towards where she was sitting, Sakura didn't dare breathe let alone move, he was looking straight at her, he however didn't give her away, his eyes shifted back to Sasuke who had moved away from the shelter of the trees was now walking towards him; "Do you want to become a murderer?"

"If I need to be." Sasuke had stopped now, he was sizing his brother up.

Sakura blinked and Itachi disappeared, he reappeared a second later behind Sasuke who had anticipated the attack, his katana was drawn and the slightest glint of the metal blade could be seen as he stuck it into the body of the man behind him, the body then turned into a flock of crows, Sasuke cursed now on high alert; "You don't have eyes like mine Sa-su-ke." Sasuke found a shiver run up and down his spine from the way his brother drawls out his name.

"I do not need eyes like yours to kill you Itachi." Sasuke ground out his words through gritted teeth, his philosophy earlier had been not to let Itachi talk, he knew how much his brother could annoy him. Sakura who had been so very wrapped up in the battle of words going on down below her hadn't noticed that Itachi had not reappeared, and only when the thought dawned on her did she sense him behind her, she wasn't fast enough to get away as he found her pressure point and knocked her out.

"I think that this place will not be that of our final battle." Sasuke spun around trying to locate his brother's voice; "I have what I came for," he paused looking down at the prone form of Haruno Sakura; "or should I say who I came for, the Kyuubi will wait till next time." Sasuke felt blind panic and fear grip him as the meaning of his brother's words became clear.

"Itachi wait! What do you want with her!" he called out hoping that his brother would reply, when he was met by silence Sasuke swore loudly, he needed to get back to Konoha, Sakura was in danger.

--

Naruto wanted nothing more than to follow Sakura as she ran back to the forest, but he knew that his would be more help defending Konoha here than on the outskirts. It was a bloodbath one that he did not wish to relive anytime soon, he had seen plenty of townsfolk being carried off on stretchers towards the hospital, he'd seen even more left because the medics had got to them too late. Naruto wondered briefly why it seemed as though the Akatsuki were retreating, they had been winning.

"NARUTO!" the voice that called to him was that of Hyuuga Neji; "Where is the Uchiha?" the commanding tone in his voice was not to be argued with.

Naruto pointed back towards the trees, Neji followed his pointing finger to see a silhouette running towards them, Naruto who had just been estimating Sasuke's whereabouts grinned proudly before he noticed that Sakura was not following him, nor was she ahead of him, surely they couldn't have missed each other; "Sasuke!" Naruto ran up to his former team mate the worried look on his face was apparent.

Sasuke did not give any verbal response, he moved forwards and grabbed the front of Naruto's clothes; "Why did she go back?!" he hissed, his eyes flashed with a rage that Naruto hadn't witnessed for a long time. Neji who was stood to one side eyed the Uchiha carefully, judging whether he would hurt Naruto or not.

Naruto looked at Sasuke confused; "Who?" he paused as he realised which; 'she' Sasuke was referring to.

"Itachi took her," Sasuke whispered letting go of Naruto's lapels.

Naruto frowned; "We have to get her back!" he insisted.

"I know that dobe, but I'm on probation Tsunade will never let me go." Naruto was wondering why exactly this bothered Sasuke so much, so the Uchiha explained it in as few words as possible, as was his way; "it was my fault she was taken, only kami knows what Itachi will do to her." He mumbled the second part to himself, but unfortunately Naruto heard him.

"What does that mean?" Naruto questioned with wide eyes, when Sasuke didn't reply Naruto pushed him back trying to release the grip that the Uchiha had on him; "What do you think Itachi will do to her?" Naruto watched as Sasuke paled visibly as he thought of the possibilities of what his brother could do to Sakura, he wasn't sure if sharing some of these thoughts with Naruto was the best of ideas.

Sasuke let him go and bowed his head slowly so that his black bangs fell over his eyes; "I don't know." He muttered darkly, Itachi hadn't given any clue as to why he wanted Sakura, this worried Sasuke to no end. His brother certainly didn't have a reputation for having mercy. Before Sasuke was aware of anything, he found himself being dragged by Naruto towards the Hokage tower. Sasuke wondered briefly how he was going to explain to the Hokage that not only was Itachi alive and kicking, but that he had kidnapped Sakura.

--

Sakura lay as still as her pounding heart would allow. She had been bound, gagged and blindfolded and now she was aching all over, she'd woken up an hour or so previously, to the sound of running feet and a constant bouncing feeling which had told her that she was on someone's back, it didn't take her long to realise whose as she remembered the events that had led up to her kidnapping, mentally she kicked herself, she should have taken some back up with her, or something. After about half an hour of running Sakura was dropped, she had to force herself to act like someone who was out cold and not moan in pain as she was mistreated, she heard Itachi move around as he began to set up a camp for himself, she heard him light a fire and soon felt it's warmth envelope her. It was very apparent that she was in over her head. Though one question still nagged at the back of her mind, and that was; why did Itachi want her so badly? Sure she was an excellent medic, but healing never seemed to be something that Akatsuki were interested in. While Sakura lay wondering what exactly Itachi had planned for her. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be good, Itachi wasn't known for being merciful.

"What are you going to do with her?" the voice was about three feet away and was faintly familiar, a member of Akatsuki perhaps, she mused.

A rustling noise preceded a bright light as Sakura's blindfold was removed; "Sakura-san you are awake." Itachi's comment was mad without emotion. Sakura was quick to cast her eyes down, she knew not to make eye contact with him, she knew that his Sharingan could do the most awful things. He chuckled coldly and without mirth; "Smart girl." Sakura looked at her knees adrenaline and chakra pumping round her body. She bit her lip, nothing and no-one would make her look into Itachi's eyes.

"Come on Itachi, stop looking at her, she isn't going to look back. You said it yourself she's smart, too smart for that." That same familiar voice that Sakura heard before broke the tense silence; "You didn't answer my question Itachi."

A shuffling noise told Sakura that Itachi had moved; "Kisame what I do with her is none of your business." The tone of voice with which he said this cause a shiver to run up Sakura's spine; "Anyway, I've got something special planned for her." Though her eyes were down cast Sakura could tell that Itachi was looking at her.

Kisame watched as his partner watched the girl, the look in his eyes was one that Kisame had never seen before, it was cold- but of course that was nothing new there- but there was something behind that look, something that made Kisame feel a certain amount of pity for the girl. Of course he would never admit to it but that look in Itachi's eyes had him worried, and while the girl in question was a perfectly capable fighter, as she had proved against him, all three of them knew that against Itachi she didn't really stand a chance; "Itachi, were you not injured in your battle with Sasuke and Madara?" Itachi whipped his head around to look at Kisame.

"A little pain is nothing." His reply was cryptic at best, but Kisame knew not to press him further.

The pink haired girl took in a breath shakily; "What happened back there?" Itachi and Kisame looked up shocked that she was daring to speak. Itachi looked over at her, her eyes were still downcast but she was trying to engage him in a conversation; "What happened to Madara?"

Itachi smirked but did not reply, he got to his feet and looked back in the direction that he had taken Sakura from; "Konoha nin are following us...Kisame, do you think you could hold them up while I take the girl." A sinking feeling shot through Sakura's stomach, Itachi still hadn't said why exactly he needed or wanted her, or where he was taking her.

Kisame gave a curt nod of a reply as he jumped into the trees to get a better view of the oncoming ninja. Itachi moved closer to Sakura and re-tied her blindfold, he couldn't risk her recognising something while he carried her. He hefted Sakura over his left shoulder and began running to the west, Sakura winced every now and again as trees whipped past her face scratching her and buffeting her as Itachi leapt from tree to tree. Kisame turned back briefly to watch the Uchiha take Sakura away.

--

"I have already sent a team of ANBU after them." Tsunade's tone was one that you didn't argue with, Sasuke growled dangerously. Naruto who was stood to his left was clenching and unclenching his fists; "It is done."

"Tsunade-baa-chan," the Hokage ground her teeth in annoyance; "we have to go after her, it is Sakura-chan, and the teme's brother took her, you have to understand." Sasuke was impressed that Naruto had managed to keep his tone down as he tried to explain to the Hokage why exactly he and Sasuke had to go after their teammate.

"No, I've told you. If I let him go it would go against the punishment put in place, there is nothing I can do." Sasuke had the urge to break something. It was his fault that Sakura had been taken and he wasn't even being given a chance to make it right.

"Without my help. He. Will. Kill. Her!" Sasuke punctuated every word. He paused and muttered; "It's my fault."

"You haven't seen how strong your former team have become!" Tsunade bit back at him, there was a short pause as it seemed the Hokage was having an internal battle "Uchiha." Her voice was remarkably calm as she now addressed Sasuke; "You will accompany Naruto, Kakashi and Sai and you will retrieve Sakura. You will not deviate from the plans given to you by Kakashi, you will not go after your brother while Sakura's life is in danger. I am only bending the terms of your probation because this is your mess and you are going to help clear it up, is that understood?" She paused as she watched Sasuke's face, his head was bowed so it was obstructed by his black hair, the smallest nod was all the answer that she got, but it was good enough. They left as soon as Kakashi met up with them, Sasuke was amazed that his former sensei wasn't late for the first time in his life. Kakashi took lead with Naruto and Sasuke either side of him, Sai brought up the rear as Kakashi instructed Pakkun to trail Sakura and Itachi's scent. When they reached the area that had once been full of trees, Naruto glanced worriedly over at Sasuke. None of the group chose to comment on the destruction, they were more worried about Sakura than a few trees. Team 7 hurried off into the night hoping that they would be fast enough to catch up with Itachi before he hurt Sakura.

"It's not your fault." Kakashi's voice surprised Sasuke, the teen looked up at his former mentor but did not reply, because no matter what was said Sasuke was going to blame himself, he should have been able to kill his brother already, but once again he had proved not strong enough. One niggling thought lingered at the back of his mind however, and that was the same question that had been plaguing Sakura; 'What exactly did Itachi want with her.' The connotations of her abduction were still left to be revealed, and Sasuke knew that what ever it was Sakura wouldn't do it willingly.

* * *

A/N: Ok so I'm sorry that I'm slow and that this has taken me about 2 months...I would have loved to finish this in a week, but I kept getting writers block. I don't much like this chapter, it feels repetitive to me. Erk. I like the beginning, but the middle and end are a bit iffy, yeah. So review please, nice things make me feel better. No flames thank you.


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